Amoun Moroccan Mediterranean Cuisine Inaugural Review Our Coverage Sponsored by Fresh Origins
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It's not who you know, it's Whom You Know and we know Amoun's owner Nash Zanfal, who came to New York in 2003 from Egypt. This is Amoun's inaugural feature and they opened in February 2017. Nash has hired a chef from Morocco so you can be assured that the Moroccan/Mediterranean cuisine is truly authentic; perhaps there is a bit of Egyptian flair in the cuisine as well: Peachy certainly always wanted to walk like an Egyptian thanks to the Bangles and now she can eat like one. We liked their flavor priority on this menu; look what flavor is at the top.
Going to Amoun is like a vacation that you don't have to get on a plane for. We began with some lovely Meze. Meet from left to right- Hummus: pureed chickpeas, garlic, lemon and tahini: it was incredibly smooth and among the best we've had; Bakoula: spinach spread with herbs, chickpeas and spices: just delicious and also pumped with spinach nutrition; and Baba Ghanoush: baked eggplant, garlic, lemon, and tahini, also a wonder to behold on your tastebuds. The fresh pita bread was perfect. Usually Peachy likes wonderful fluffy white Italian bread and often does not like flat bread at all. She liked this pita.
Harira Soup is both tremendously flavorful and a great palate cleanser. The amazing savory finish we liked and this traditional tomato-based Moroccan soup brings celery, herbs, chickpeas and spices to the party.
We love shrimp in every cuisine not only for their flavor but also for their size similarity to Peachy in height. These spicy shrimp by Amoun are exotic and fiery, and perfect to kill pollen allergies if you have them too. Herbs, garlic and chickpeas elevate the shrimp in its tomato sauce.
A close up above, and its smile below...
We always insist on a green salad, and Peachy is horrified by any menu that thinks it is above having a green salad. There are two salad choices at Amoun and we picked the Mediterranean Salad.
The items were fresh and a nice contrast to the hot food. It is exactly what we were looking for.
Look at how much fun the entree presentation is with Tagines!
First in the batting order, we tried Chicken Tagine which is embellished with lemon. By the way, all meat at Amoun is Halal. Amoun is in our memory the only Halal venue we have ever reviewed that performed successfully. Our understanding of Halal meat is that when the animals are killed, Imam must be there to bless the meat. We do not care what religion anyone's food is; we only care how delicious is it is and how smart and nice the owner is if that is the case! This chicken had great flavor and was beautifully braised. Herbs and spices and preserved lemon and olives enhanced this dish.
Amoun is known for its Lamb Tagine, which we found incredibly tender. Avid readers know that Peachy is not personally a fan of lamb so she did like the chicken better, but if you like lamb, you will love this. It is fabulously joined by apricots.
Moroccan lamb shank tagine comes with chickpeas and apricots.
We love the covered dishes!
You absolutely must try the amazing couscous which is just perfect in both flavor and consistency. All the recipes are authentic family recipes from the chef we're told, and the waitress was even from Morocco.
We look forward to continued success from Nash and Amoun.
